Table top circulator



A ril 15, 1952 A, SUTTON 2,593,217

TABLE TOP CIRCULATOR Filed March 24, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR- 0His A. Suztorz April 15, 1952 o. A. SUTTON 2,593,217

I TABLE TOP CIRCULATOR Filed March 24', 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET INVENTOR.OM56 A. Suzzon flaw... M oazag Patented Apr. 15, 1952 2,593,211 rancsTQP cmcoinron Ottis A. Sutton, Wichita, Kans assignor to The A. SuttonCorporation, Inc. Wichita, Kane" a corporation of Kansas,

Application March 24, 1950, Serial N'o. 151,721

My present invention comprises an aircirculator including an adjustablefan unit piv-. otally mounted upon a horizontal axis in such fashion asto. remain in any of a plurality of positions to which it may be moved,in one position directing air upwardly and in other positions directinga stream of airlaterally at any desired angle to the horizontal, the aircirculator comprising a supporting: stand including a deflector conemounted above the fan unit in coaxial relation thereto when verticallyDositioned so as to spread the air angularly in all directions. The unitmay be moved about the room to any desirable or convenient position andmay create either a gentle circulation by directing air upwardly andlaterally in all directions while drawing air from the room in alldirections, or may be positioned to direct a concentrated, whirling beamof air horizontally or at an angle across a room, thus providing means 7C aims- (01. awe-+ .59)

for achieving complete circulation without to provide an air circulatorof the foregoing character which is provided with simple but effectivemeans for preventing the rotation of the fan unit about its horizontalaxis more than a limited amount in either direction, thus preventingdamage tothe unit.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the present inventionmay be more readily ascertained by inspection of the followingspecification taken in connection with the accompanying drawin whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, while the features ofnovelty will be more distinctly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a view in elevation of the air circulating unit showing thefan positioned to direct a stream of air vertically upward;

Fig. 2 is a view in elevation, with parts broken a y, fc he un t r tateda. degrees. c ock:

e om the posi io f la 1 an show n the fan positioned to direct a streamof air at an inclination to the horizontal;

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation, with parts. broken away, of the unitrotated ninety degrees clockwise from the position of Fig. 2 and;showing the fan in a horizontal position;

Fig. 4 is a partial, vertical section, on an enlarged scale, taken. sbsta tially aloneline 4-4 f is- 2.;

Fig. 5 is a partial, horizontal; section taken from the plane of line5--5 of; 2; and

Fig. 6: is a partial, vertical section taken sub.- stantially. from theplane of line. B-.-- 6 of Fig, 5

The air circulating unit of the present in vention,v comprises a tabletop Ill to which is af-.- fixed a deflector cone II and three legs [2,it and I4, the legs being substantially identical but being separatelynumbered so as to facili tate correlation of the views with each other.The tabletop I0 preferably comprises a formed, disclike member having araised edge portion l5 to prevent articles from sliding off of the edgethereof, and a downwardly turned flange including an ornamental beadflange {6. The

deflector cone H is a formed disclike member having its edge received inthe groove. provided by the bead flange IS, the two parts being as;sembled by rolling the edge of; the topv IO over the edge of the coneII. The cone is therefore maintained in concentric relation to the roundtable top with its edge extending to the edge of the table top and itsapex; directed down;- wardly at the center of the construction. For easeof manufacture the cone is slightly trun cated, but such configurationis not critical.

There could be a different. number of legs, but three are sufficient forstability, provide an attractive appearance, and also'provide a widespace through which the air stream may be directed without interferencewhen the fan is tipped angularly' or horizontally outward, Each legcomprises a channel-shaped member having its web 20 outward and itsflanges 21] directed inward so as to provide a hollowspace openingtowardthe vertical centerline of' the unit. The legs are formed and are thenassembled with endpieces which hold the legs in formed shape, the endpieces comprising an upper end piece 22 and a lower end piece 23. The,upper end piece comprises a strap substantially in the form of a handle,with the bight portion there of spanning the upper edges of the flan e2|, the vertical portions, thereof being spot-welded to the flanges 2|as indicated at 24, and the lat erally directed tips 25 thereofprojecting outwardly through notches 2B in the upper edges of theflanges 2|. The deflector cone Ill is preferably provided withscrew-receiving apertures while being formed for the reception of sheetmetal screws 21' passing through apertures in the tips 25 so as to holdthe legs. to the table top at equiangular. spacing about the verticalcenterli-ne of" the unit. The lower end pieces 23 each comprise ahorizontal portion in which a depression 28 may be formed to provide asup porting foot. and three upwardly turned; tabs 29 which are welded tothe flanges and; web of the leg.

A fan-supporting ring- 30 is supported by the legs, in a horizontal;position at an intermediate level, the ring being formed from half-inchthe diameter along which the pivots lie. forward end of the cowl ispreferably'spanned by a grille 45 preventing accidental contact withround bar stock or equivalent In order to support the ring each of theflanges 2| is notched as indicated at 3| to receive substantially halfthe diameter of the ring, and in order to pre vent spreading of thelower ends of the legs the flanges 2| are welded to the ring on theirinner surfaces as indicated at 32. Preferably the joint 33 holding theends of the ring together is located midway between the flanges 2| ofone of the legs, thus eliminating the necessity for making a smoothlyfinished ground joint. The ring may be made of two or more sections forconvenience, in which case all of the joints may be located as shown inFig. 6.

The ring is provided with two flattened areas 35 atgdiametricallyopposed points, lying along a diameter normal to a plane passing throughthe vertical centerline of the unit and the center of one of the legs,in this case leg l2. A fan unit is pivotally mounted for rotation aboutthe horizontal diameter thus defined, by pivot means such as disclosedin my copending application, Serial No. 120,502, filed October 10,

1949, now Patent No. 2,554,600 dated May '29, 1951, the fan unit beingpreferably such as disclosed in my copending applications, Serial Nos.120,503 and 120,504, both filed ()ctober 10, 1949 now Patents Nos.2,554,601 and 2,554,602 respec- 'tively, both dated May 29, 1951. Thefan unit the cowl 40 ahead of the forward edge of the funnel 4| so as toproject a circulating, beamed -stream of air through the forward end ofthe cowl. The fan therefore rotates about an axis midwaybf the pivotsand at right angles to The the fan blades. A conical, inwardly taperingpivot member 46 is mounted upon the cowl by a bolt and nut 48, themember 46 complementarily fitting into an inwardly tapering openingthrough'the flattened portion 35 of the supporting ring. The ring is soformed as to be initially outwardly stressed at the portions 35 and thebolts 41 may be tightened so as to stress the ring inwardly when the fanis positioned upon the structure, for this purpose the nuts 48 beingwelded to the inner surface of the cowl prior to the assembly of thecowl's component parts. The tapering member '46 is preferably formed ofbrass having a high coefficient of vibration of the unit to displace theunit from a selected position. However, the fan unit is substantiallybalanced about its pivotal axis so that when positioned at any positionit will not have much tendency to swing to any other position. Theconstruction is such that positioning of the fan unit at any desiredangularity may be readily accomplished by pushing or pulling upon someportion of the cowl or of the funnel, and may be accomplished while thefan is in operation.

- The electric motor 42 may be connected to a source of current througha cable 50 preferably having a plug-in connector (not shown) to themotor.

between legs I 3 and I4.

at its free end, the cable being led into the lower end of the leg |2through a grommet 5| closely adjacent the foot of the leg so that thecable may be concealed beneath floor rugs or the like. The cable 50 runsup within the leg |2 to control means mounted in the enlarged,

hollow upper end of the leg, such means being exemplified by a switchbox 52 from which projects a control knob 53 conveniently located at anupper level so as to be readily accessible. From the control means amotor cable 54 is led downwardly through the hollow leg, behind andunderneath the ring 30, and then outwardly The cable 54 is made of suchlength that the fan unit may be swung about its horizontal axis from thevertical position shown in Fig. 1 to the horizontal position shown inFig. 3, and beyond that position to a slight downward inclination atwhich point the cable 54 becomes tightened and prevents further rotationso that the fan unit is prevented from rotating through a completerevolution inthat direction. When the 'fan unit is swung 'in theopposite direction the edge of the funnel 4| engages the cable 54 whenthe unit is swung a few degrees beyond the vertical, thus preventinghorizontal positioning of the fan unit in such manner as to direct anair stream against the leg l2. The fan unit therefore can be directedhorizontally only through the clear space The limits of rotation of thefan unit serve another purpose in that motor 42 is restricted in itsmovement from a vertical position to a substantially horizontal positionin one direction only, whereby the mo tor is always maintained in properoperating positions. Thus the oil inlets and ducts are always uppermostor so positioned as to permit the flow of oil to the bearings andprevent dripconform to the curved edges thereof shaped to" clear thecowl in its swinging movement, and being supported in such position byextensions 64 on the flanges 62 which are bent inwardly at an angle andwelded to the downwardly projecting portion of the member 60. The hollowspaces between. the flanges of the legs are thus substantially closed toenhance the ornamental appearance of the unit and to protect the control members within the leg l2.

The members 60 provide supporting surfaces upon which a pair of guardrings 65 are mounted, the rings being concentrically located beneath thedeflector cone. The rings are supported by a bracket member 66 providedwith oppositely disposed, hooked arms which partially surround the ring,the central portions of the brackets parent to those skilled in the artthat the invention permits of modification in arrangement and detail. Iclaim as my invention all such modifications as come within the truespirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air circulating unit comprising a plurality of equiangularlyspaced legs, a round table top supported by said legs, a conicaldeflector concentrically underlying said table top and having its edgeextending to the edge of said table top and its apex downward, asupporting ring afiixed tosaid legs at an intermediate levelconcentrically with respect to said table top, a diametrically opposed,inwardly directed pair of pivots mounted on said supporting ring on aline normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs, anda fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including a fanrotatable about an axis midway between the pivots and at right angles tothe diameter along which the pivots lie, said fan unit being movableabout said pivots to direct a stream of air upward against saiddeflector or to direct a stream of air laterally between said two legs.

2. An air circulating unit comprising three equiangularly spaced legs, atable top supported by said legs, a conical deflector underlying saidtable top and having its edge concentrically arranged with respect tosaid table top and its apex downward, a supporting ring afiixed to saidlegs at an intermediate level concentrically with respect to said tabletop, a diametrically opposed pair of pivots mounted on said supportingring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of saidlegs, and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including afan rotatable about an axis midway between the pivots and at rightangles to the diameter along which the pivots lie, said fan unit beingmovable about said pivots to direct a stream of air upward against saiddeflector or to direct an unimpeded stream of air laterally between saidtwo legs.

3. An air circulating unit comprising three equiangularly spaced legs, atable top supported by said legs, a conical deflector underlying saidtable top and having its edge concentrically arranged with respect tosaid table top and its apex downward, a supporting ring aflixed to saidlegs at an intermediate level concentrically with respect to said tabletop, a diametrically opposed pair of pivots mounted on said supportingring on a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of saidlegs, and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including afan rotatable about an axis midway between the comprising an electricmotor and a propeller fan driven by said electric motor to rotate aboutan axis midway between said pivots and at right angles to the diameteralong which said pivots lie, and a current supply cable connecting saidelectric motor to a fixed portion of said table, said current supplycable being of such length as to limit rotation of said fan unit ineither direction about said pivot means.

5. An air circulating unit comprising three equiangularly spaced hollowlegs, a table top supported by said legs, a horizontally disposed ringmounted on said legs at an intermediate level, a pair of diametricallyopposed pivots mounted on said ring on a line normal to a planebisecting the angle between two of said legs, a fan unit pivotallysupported by said pivots, said fan unit comprising an electric motor, apropeller fan driven by said electric motor to rotate about an axismidway between said pivots and at right angles to the diameter alongwhich said pivots lie and concentrically arranged air directing meanssurrounding said motor and fan, control means for said motor mountedwithin one of said hollow legs, and a current supply cable connectingsaid control means and said motor, said current supply cable being ofsuch length as to limit rotation of said fan unit in either directionabout its horizontal axis.

6. An air circulator comprising three equiangularly spaced legs, a tabletop supported by said legs, a conical deflector underlying said tabletop and having its edge concentrically arranged with respect to saidtable top and its apex downward,

a supporting ring afiixed to said legs at an inter-.

' of said legs, and a fan unit pivotally supported pivots and at rightangles to the diameter along izontal position at an intermediate level,a pair' of diametrically opposed pivots mounted on said supporting ringon a line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of saidlegs, a fan unit,

pivotally supported by said pivots concentrically within said legs andmovable from a vertical position to a laterally directed position, saidfan unit on said pivots whereby said fan unit may be positionedvertically to direct a stream of air upward against said deflector ormay be positioned to direct an unimpeded stream of air laterally betweensaid two legs, and a plurality of guard rings concentrically mountedupon the upper portions of said legs.

7. An air circulator comprising a plurality of legs, a round table topsupported by said legs, a supporting ring affixed to said legs at aninter- 'mediate level concentrically with respect to said table top, adiametrically opposed pair of pivots mounted on said supporting ring ona line normal to a plane bisecting the angle between two of said legs,and a fan unit pivotally supported on said pivots and including a fanrotatable about an axis midway between the pivots and at right angles tothe diameter along which the pivots lie, said fan unit being movableabout said pivots to direct a stream of air upward against said tabletop or to direct an unimpeded stream of air laterally between said twolegs.

O'I'I'IS A. SUTTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,123,448 Weber July 12, 19382,310,772 Fukal Feb. 9, 1943 2,331,056 Spear Oct. 5, 1943 2,476,692Bernstein July 19, 1949 2,554,600 Sutton May 29, 1951 2,554,601 SuttonMay 29, 1941 2,554,602 Sutton May 29, 1951

